A computer network is a collection of interconnected computing devices that exchange data and share resources. In certain types of computer networks, such as enterprise networks, data center networks, and service provider access networks, administrators need to configure and manage large numbers of endpoint users or customers attempting to send and receive data through the network.
As one example, an enterprise network connects a plurality of remote enterprise sites that belong to a single enterprise, such as a university, corporation, business, or other large entity. Each of the enterprise sites may comprise a private network, such a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN) that includes a plurality of customer devices, such as desktop computers, laptops, workstations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), Internet of Things (TOT) devices, wireless devices, network-ready appliances, file servers, print servers or other devices.
As another example, a data center network provides a plurality of customers with access to web sites, data, and services housed in a data center. A data center in its most simple form may consist of a single facility that hosts all of the infrastructure equipment, such as networking and storage systems, redundant power supplies, and environmental controls. More sophisticated data centers may be organizations spread throughout the world with subscriber support equipment located in various physical hosting facilities.